Mexican remittances rise 4.5 pct in June vs previous year

MEXICO CITY, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The amount of money sent home by Mexican migrants living abroad rose 4.5 percent in June compared with the same month last year, central bank data showed on Tuesday.

Remittances to Mexico totaled $2.42 billion in June, compared with $2.31 billion in June last year. In May, the figure was $2.58 billion.

U.S. President Donald Trump ran an election campaign heavy on anti-Mexican rhetoric and threatened to halt transfers from Mexican nationals unless Mexico agreed to pay for a wall he wants built on the U.S. southern border to keep out illegal immigrants.

Mexico has said it will defend the free flow of remittances, and Trump has not revisited the threat.

Remittances to Mexico totaled $26.993 billion in 2016, up nearly 9 percent from 2015, and the highest amount ever according to Mexican central bank figures dating to 1995. (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Frances Kerry)